Our narrative begins in England somewhere between the twelvemonth of 1824 and 1831 , where a private chef to King George IV , named Henderson William Brand , concoct a sauce that grabbed the tending of the monarch butterfly . George make love the thick brownish sauce , purportedly rating it an " A1 , " a move that cement the fate of stain and millions ofsteaksto come up .
In 1831 , Brand ’s sauce go into commercial production , marketed as a condiment for " fish , kernel and domestic fowl , " not to mention asauce"appreciated on Welsh rarebits , broiled lobster and English mutton chops . " At the 1862 International Exhibition in London , Brand inclose " Brand ’s International Sauce " made ofvinegar , Eastern spice , raisin , sultanas , dates , oranges and tomato .
By 1865 , A.1 . earned its office as the house sauce of the royals — and it would n’t be until the late 1890s that this acclaimed condiment would leap into the mainstream with a grip of over 50 percent of the British bottled sauce market . A.1 . ’s human relationship with steak is n’t as long or illustrious as we may imagine it is , only marketed as a sauce for steak upon its comer in the U.S. around 1906 . In 1960 , the company seal their sauce ’s fate by changing A.1 . ’s prescribed name to " A.1 . Steak Sauce . "
Like most food product that have been around since the time before preservatives , A.1 . ’s ingredientshave slenderly change since the 1800s . Now , the fresh tomatoes and raisin are replaced with puree and paste , and mixed with life vinegar , maize syrup , crushed orange purée , common salt , spices , celery semen , caramel color , potassium sorbate and deliciousxanthan gum .
If you ’ve never taste A.1 . before , you ’ll notice a fragrance that you do n’t get from condiment like cetchup . It ’s tangy and robust , with a peppery gustation evocative ofWorcestershire sauce .
Why the raisin ? Not only do they contribute more than flavor , but caption has it the antioxidant - ample yield were used to mask the flavor of rancid meat . To mean , that was just something the great unwashed were OK with back then . What a time to have been alive .
In 2014 , Kraft drop the word " steak " from the name to " mull modern dining habits , " even going as far as to release a surprisinglyon - point videoto announce the separation between sauce and steak .
If you want some sauce without making the trip to the shop , A.1 . is easy tomake at home . Add water , golden raisin , balsamic vinegar , Worcestershire sauce , ketchup , dijon mustard , pepper , garlic , Allium cepa , celery , common salt and Orange River in a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes . Let coolheaded , try and drown your steak in sauce .
